David Fincher's remake of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' still has no lead?

Apparently so, contridicting early reports that had Carey Mulligan winning the role from Kristen Stewart. Here's the story from Deadline:

Every hot young actress in Hollywood wants to play the lead in Sony Pictures' The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. But will David Fincher cast one of them -- or go with an unknown? This is the studio's next 3-film franchise based on Swedish author Stieg Larsson's bestselling Millennium trilogy. It begins with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (there's a very well-received Swedish version in theaters right now), and continues with The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. So what's described to me as "creme de la creme" of young actresses are calling Sony execs as well as producer Scott Rudin and asking if they "can come in for a meeting" about it.

Carey Mulligan, the Oscar nominee from The Education, actually phoned the pic's writer Steve Zallian and took him to lunch. (Reminds me of that bad joke about the ambitious actress and the writer.) Juno Oscar nominee Ellen Page wrote a heartfelt note to Rudin. (Her Hard Candy persona is perfect for the part.) Sony execs insist they're "nowhere near casting". But Mulligan, Page, Kristen Stewart, Mia Wasikowska, Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Thirlby, and Scarlett Johannsen are all circling.

The problem is that director David Fincher "is not sure if he wants to go with an actress of any note or go with an unknown," an insider tells me. "David's process is very specific and private. He's looking for authenticity and a degree of fierceness and believeability capable of delivering the intensity that the part on the page calls for." I hear Sony execs think the bestseller itself is such a phenom, and the material so exciting, that the twentysomething female lead doesn't need a name. On the other hand, they think the male lead does require a star, and the studio is waiting for an answer from Brad Pitt.

-I think all the actresses are excellent and could do a great job, but I don't know that I have a favorite...do you? Thoughts?

Is Greg Mottola's next project going to star Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman?

Well, yes, though at the moment he's only writing this particular film (though reports have him directing it as well, but that's not confirmed yet). Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

“Adventureland” writer-director Greg Mottola has been hired by Paramount to write the screenplay for its adaptation of “Important Artifacts.”

A little over a year ago, the studio won an auction for the rights to Leanne Shapton’s book — full title: “Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion and Jewelry” — which Farrar Straus & Giroux had just published.

Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman quickly became attached to star in what Mottola will spin into a romantic comedy. The stars are also producing through their respective banners, Plan B and Handsomecharlie Films.

An art director at the New York Times, Shapton crafted a fictional estate auction catalog full of personal items and photographs from the four-year romance between a male photographer and a younger food columnist.

The UTA-repped Mottola has directed the films “Superbad” and “The Daytrippers,” which he also scripted. He is in postproduction on the comedy “Paul,” written by and starring Nick Frost and Simon Pegg (“Shaun of the Dead”).

-I'm a fan of Mottola's and this sounds interesting, so my interest has been piqued...thoughts?